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Vermont House approves bill to create forensic facility, agrees interim DOC role with sunset
Summary
The House approved Senate Bill 193 to establish a forensic facility and competency-restoration program, adopting amendments that authorize a temporary Department of Corrections role and emergency rulemaking for an interim program, with sunsets when a permanent facility opens.
The Vermont House on May 26 passed Senate Bill 193, which would require the Agency of Human Services to establish a forensic facility to provide competency restoration, evaluation, stabilization and treatment for certain criminal-justice-involved individuals. Members approved amendments to create an interim competency restoration program and to permit Department of Corrections involvement temporarily, with those interim provisions scheduled to sunset when a permanent facility becomes operational.
Member from South Burlington, speaking for the judiciary committee, said S.193 addresses defendants found incompetent to stand trial and those found not guilty by reason of insanity, and emphasized the bill creates processes for transfer, competency evaluations, forensic risk assessments and court hearings. The presenter estimated the number of people meeting the facility’s criteria is small — perhaps up to six individuals annually — and underscored safeguards: periodic reevaluations, burden on the state to prove danger by clear and convincing evidence, and court oversight of continued commitments.
A substantial amendment from West Rutland expanded the Department of Corrections’ interim role so that DOC could operate a temporary competency restoration program until a permanent forensic facility is built; that interim authority would sunset on July 1, 2029. The amendment also requires AHS to adopt emergency rules and deliver a feasibility plan by Jan. 15, 2027 specifying proposed site, staffing, costs, timeline, and options for interim out-of-state placements or in-state program elements.
Floor debate was extensive and at times sharply divided. The member from Northfield warned that embedding DOC-run interim programs risks conflating treatment with punishment and described gaps in safeguards for people with traumatic brain injury or dementia; other members, representing victims’ perspectives and committee sponsors, urged adoption as a critical step to provide treatment for a small but serious caseload and to protect public safety.
The House recorded a roll-call vote on the motion to propose the judiciary committee’s amended bill to the Senate: 115 voted yes and 9 voted no. Members later suspended the rules to place S.193 in all remaining stages, the House passed the bill in concurrence with its amendments, and messaged its action to the Senate. The bill includes multiple required reports, feasibility work, and sunset dates tied to the timeline for a permanent facility.
